Becoming A Joy-FULL Person
3. Attitude Check
Philippians 2:1-18
Don Jaques
MAIN IDEA:
If you want to be a Joy-Full person, follow Jesus’ example of humility.
OBJECTIVES:
Listeners will understand what it means to be humble.
Listeners will discover the connection between humility and joy-FULL living.
Listeners will commit to doing one concrete act of humility this week.
INTRO:
When I was in junior high our youth group would go to summer camp with a number of other churches from around the state. One group was from the little town of Washtucna, Washington, a farming community in Eastern Wasthington. One of the guys in the group from Washtucna became famous (perhaps infamous) for standing up in the middle of a meal, or during planned recreation, or at just about any other time, and shouting out “Attitude Check!” This was our cue to yell back, “Praise the Lord!” And if we didn’t do it loud enough, he’d shout it out again, “Attitude Check!” 3 or 4 different times until he was satisfied our attitude was heading in the right direction.
I’ve got to admit that me and my friends had a little bit of fun at that guy’s expense, but looking back I think he had something going. And I think the Apostle Paul would have appreciated his cheerleading efforts.
As we’ve been studying the book of Philippians the past two weeks we’ve discovered a couple of keys to becoming a Joy-FULL person. They’ve included
1. Being thankful for what God has done, and confident in His ability to complete his work in your life.
2. Developing relationships of agape love toward others. AND
3. Living life with an eternal perspective.
Today as we continue studying this little book, we’re going to discover that in order to become a Joy-FULL person we’re going to have do an ATTITUDE CHECK. We’ll discover that according to Paul there are some attitudes that will help us become Joy-FULL and some that won’t. And we’ll discover how it is that we can develop the attitudes we need to be Joy-FULL in our lives.
If you’re ready, let’s jump in to the 2nd chapter of Philippians. Now remember, Paul is writing to his friends in Philippi while he’s under house arrest in Rome, awaiting a hearing before Caesar which will end in his release or his execution. He has been kept from seeing the Philippians for over a year, and he is concerned that they not fall away from what he’s taught them. So he writes…
Philippians 2:1-11
1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
What is the key attitude that Paul exhorts the Philippian believers to develop? HUMILITY.
What does it mean to be HUMBLE?
1. Consider others better than yourself. (v. 3-4)
3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Our natural way of thinking is that the more we can get for ourselves the happier we’ll be.
But God’s word tells us just the opposite is true. If you want to be great, you’ve got to be the last. If you want to get everything you want, you’ve got to be willing to put others first.
ILLUS: Survivor All-Stars. More than any other Survivor show the final two lied, cheated, broke promises to get there. It was interesting that in the final “tribal council”, they were called on this behavior by Lex, who said basically “I hope all the money is worth it, because you traded your friendships and your integrity for it.”
You want to be a joy-FULL person? It won’t come from stepping on and over other people but comes instead from looking out for the interests of others!
One thing I know about myself, and hopefully I’m not alone here, is that I’m basically a selfish person. At heart, I want what I want and I want it now! The whole idea of considering others better than myself seems completely unnatural…even un-American!
What would it look like for me, for all of us, to consider others better than ourselves?
• Simple things like letting others go first.
• Giving up the biggest piece of dessert (or the last piece).
• More important things like keeping your promises. Showing up on time to appointments with others.
• Giving money away to others before you have everything you want.
TRANS: Our role model for all of this “humility” business is Jesus himself. Paul lays that out when he says in verse 5
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Paul then spends the next few sentences telling us exactly what Jesus did in laying down an example of humility. It’s starts in verse six where we learn that being humble like Jesus means to…
2. Be unconcerned about your personal position. (v. 5-6)
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
that word “grasped” here brings the idea that it was not something to be seized. Though Christ was in very nature God, he did not go grasping after it, putting himself forward, demanding others treat him in a way befitting someone of his stature. He didn’t say “That’s mine for the taking!”
Our application is simple. Whatever titles we may have earned, whatever degrees may hang on our wall, being like Jesus will mean we never lord our authority over others, or try to make them feel inferior to us.
Mark 10:42-45 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
You want to know what to call me? “Most Holy Reverend Jaques”?
My friends call me Don.
For those of you in the military – protocol demands certain titles and respect for people with certain titles. But when you are out of your uniform, how do you treat people?
TRANS: Let Jesus be your guide. Though he was in nature God, he did not consider it something to be grasped. Instead, his set us an example of humility, teaching us to..
3. Make yourself a servant. (v. 7)
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
John 13:12-17
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13 "You call me ’Teacher’ and ’Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
How can there be joy in making yourself a servant? How can it be that if you want to be Joy-FULL it is somehow bound up in choosing to be a servant to those around you?
Perhaps it is in this: If your joy and happiness in life is based upon having others serve you, then if you are ever deprived of such honor, your life will take a turn for the worse. However, if you make the choice to serve others; if you make yourself nothing of your own accord, then no longer will your happiness be founded upon how others treat you – which is completely out of your control.
4. Obey even when it is inconvenient. (v. 8)
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
The question I’ve been asking myself this week in relation to this verse is…How far does my obedience go?
Am I willing to obey the word of God if it means I lose?
Am I willing to obey the word of God if it means someone else might not understand?
Am I willing to obey the word of God even if I don’t really like what it has to say?
Our humility is shown in these types of situations. Will we humble ourselves before God’s will or raise ourselves up above what his word says and say, “In my situation it just doesn’t apply!”
Jesus gave us the most perfect example of humility – and Paul exhorts us to live our life with the same kind of humble attitude.
TRANS: But you might say to me, “That’s great Don, but all that advice in Philippians sounds out of reach for me. How can I become that type of person, and begin knowing the joy that comes from becoming a humble servant?”
How can you develop humility? (The answer is found in verses 12 and 13.)
• Work hard and let God change your will. (v. 12-13)
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Don’t be confused. This verse is NOT saying that we must work to earn our salvation. There are really two parts of our salvation, and they are described by the words justification and sanctification.
Justification is the one time act of God by which we are pronounced NOT GUILTY of our sin. We are cleansed of our sin by the blood of Jesus Christ, and able to enter into a relationship with Him. This cannot be earned – it is a gift of God.
But sanctification, on the other hand, is the process of being made more and more into the image of Christ in our physical lives here on earth. It is the lifelong process of submitting our lives to His will moment by moment, until we’ve finally reached a place where our will and His will are the same.
So Paul is not saying here we need to work hard to earn our salvation. Instead, he’s saying, keep on obeying God’s word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, working out in the physical realm the spiritual salvation you have already received. If we do out part, we’re promised God will begin changing not just our actions – but our very WILL!
ILLUS: Ignace Jan Paderewski, the famous Polish composer-pianist, was once scheduled to perform at a great American concert hall for a high-society extravaganza. In the audience was a mother with her fidgety nine-year-old son. Weary of waiting, the boy slipped away from her side, strangely drawn to the Steinway on the stage. Without much notice from the audience, he sat down at the stool and began playing "chopsticks." The roar of the crowd turned to shouts as hundreds yelled, "Get that boy away from there!"
When Paderewski heard the uproar backstage, he grabbed his coat and rushed over behind the boy. Reaching around him from behind, the master began to improvise a countermelody to "Chopsticks." As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy’s ear, "Keep going. Don’t quit, son, don’t stop, don’t stop."
Today in the Word, Moody Bible Institute, Jan., 1992, p.8
In a sense, that is how God is at work helping us to "work out our salvation." Although God is behind it all he does require our effort. If you want to know the JOY that comes from living a humble life – it is going to take hard work on your part. It is going to take deliberate choices to be like Jesus in how you relate to others. But it’s worth the hard work!
What will be the result of a life lived with humility?
• Your life will bring light to dark places. (v. 16)
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life
I kept thinking about Mother Teresa all week. How she dedicated her life to helping the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India. How somehow, this humble servant woman achieved world-wide fame for her service. Talk about being a shining light in a dark place.
Paul says that when we live lives of humility, being a servant, putting others first – the result is we will shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life to others.
The world is full of people clamoring for attention, for honor, for prestige. You want your life to be set apart from the crowd? Live humbly and put others needs before your own.
CONCLUSION:
How will your life be different this week?
Who is it that God is whispering in your ear that you might serve this week?
What action can you take to literally empty yourself of your rights and become like a servant?
What task do you routinely do that causes you to complain?
I challenge you to live in the shadow of our Lord Jesus, who lived a humble life, and because of it now basks in eternal glory with the Father. I urge you to write down one concrete action step you can take this week to develop this attitude of humility and follow the example of Jesus.
Becoming a joy-FULL person will stem from your willingness to serve others from a heart of humility. Will you risk it?
